Katharina von Bora Katharina von Bora "There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage." Martin Luther Katharina von Bora (1499-1552) If ever there were a power behind the throne, none was stronger than Katharina von Bora, or "Dear Kate," as Luther described his beloved wife. Her story is full of drama: Born of a noble but poor family, Katharina was only three when she was sent away to school and eventually took vows to become a nun. In April 1523, with the Reformation well under way, Katharina and 11 of her fellow nuns hid in a wagon and escaped from their Cistercian convent. Once the wagon arrived in Lutherstadt Wittenberg , she was taken in by the family of none other than Lucas Cranach the Elder . Although Katharina was courted by two men, she married neither. In the end, she said that she would only marry Martin Luther or his friend, Nicholas von Amsdorf.

Philipp Melanchthon , one of Luther's closest friends, was shocked at the idea of Luther marrying; he believed a wedding would cause a scandal that could severely damage the Reformation and its cause. On the other hand, Luther's father supported his son, as did Cranach. After pondering the matter for some time, Luther decided that "his marriage would please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh, and the devils to weep." The result was the joining of a 42-year-old former monk and a 26-year-old former nun in holy matrimony on June 13, 1525. By all accounts, it was a happy and affectionate marriage. Luther wrote that he loved waking up to see pigtails on the pillow next to him. He also admired Katharina's intellect, calling her "Doctora Lutherin." She bore six children, ran the household, and organized the family finances. Their home was in Lutherstadt Wittenberg's Black Monastery, the former Augustinian monastery where Luther had lived before the Reformation began.

Katharina grew much of what they ate in her own private garden, raised livestock, cooked, and – perhaps most famously – brewed her own beer. To boost their income, she made good use of the extra rooms in the former monastery, opening a medieval guest house and offering room and board to as many as 30 paying students and visitors at a time. Katharina was trusted in ways unheard of for women in those days. Luther allowed her to deal with his publishers and made her his sole heir. Although we know little of Katharina's own views about her unusual life, we do know that she loved her husband deeply. After his death in 1546, she wrote: "He gave so much of himself in service not only to one town or to one country, but to the whole world. Yes, my sorrow is so deep that no words can express my heartbreak, and it is humanly impossible to understand what state of mind and spirit I am in . . . I can neither eat nor drink, not even sleep . . .

God knows that when I think of having lost him, I can neither talk nor write in all my suffering." While fleeing the plague in Lutherstadt Wittenberg in 1552, Katharina died in Torgau after a terrible accident with her wagon and horses. She was 53 years old. Would you like to follow in the footsteps of Katharina von Bora? Then take a look at our recommended tour . Age of the Reformation: Martin Luther and Katherine Bora Posted on February 8, 2010, from Athens, Alabama Early in the German Reformation, on April 4, 1523 (the day before Easter that year), twelve well-born Cistercian nuns escaped from their cloister at Nimbschen. With the help of Leonard Kopp, solid citizen of Torgau and supplier of foodstuffs to the monastery, they made their way to Wittenberg by 7 April. Legend has it that Kopp concealed the renegades in barrels used for storing herring, which would have been a rather smelly experience.

If so, it would have been a scene reminiscent of the escape of Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves from the Elk King�s stronghold in The Hobbit. In fact, the twelve nuns simply rode inside a covered wagon hidden from the watchful eyes of the cloister�s guardian monks. Once they reached Wittenberg, the nuns came under the protection of Martin Luther, the leader of the Reform movement in Germany. He agreed to help them, even though the penalty for aiding runaway nuns was death under both Canon and Civil Law. Soon, some of the women rejoined their families, some became governesses, and some married. Reluctant at First, The Vivacious Nun Chooses Luther One of the nuns proved to be a problem. At twenty-four years of age, Katherine von Bora was past the normal age for marriage. Being vivacious, she still managed to attract a suitor, Jerome Baumgartner, whom she also loved. But the match never came to pass because the man�s family objected to his marriage to a renegade nun. Late in 1524 efforts began to find Katherine another suitor, efforts that she firmly resisted.

Then, suddenly, she stated her willingness to marry either Luther or his associate, Nicholas von Amsdorf. A hitherto confirmed bachelor, Luther agreed that at the age of forty-two, the time was right for him to wed. So on June 13, 1525, the ex-monk and the ex-nun wed. Laughing Angels, Weeping Devils The wedding of Martin and Katherine was not done lightly, nor was it without controversy. Luther thought long and hard about whether he should get married. Some of his friends and family supported the marriage. Hans Luther, his father, greatly desired his son to marry and produce sons. Lucas Cranach the elder and his wife Barbara were very supportive of Martin and Katherine�s marriage and attended the wedding as witnesses. Luther�s friend and colleague Philipp Melanchthon opposed the marriage and refused to attend the ceremonies. Melanchthon and others felt that Luther�s wedding would be scandalous and harm the cause of the Reformation. Ultimately, Luther came to the opposite conclusion.

As he put it, there was �a battery of reason in favor of his proposal: his marriage would please his father, rile the pope, cause the angels to laugh and the devils to weep.� Married life agreed with Luther, who grew to love his �Katie� dearly and fathered six children with her. His action is also a stunning testimonial to the Reformation�s position concerning marriage and celibacy for religious leaders. No Misogyny in this Household On some matters, Luther was very much a sixteenth-century male. He believed that the man was the head of the family and should be in charge of government as well. But unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not support the high level of misogyny that characterized the intellectual worldview of the Renaissance. Luther gave Katherine von Bora control of the family finances and the running of the household. She was more practical and grounded — not the simple housewife preferred by most men of the time. The Luthers lived in the Black Cloister, the former home of the Augustinian monks in Wittenberg and the place where Luther had lived before the Reformation.

While the other monks, one by one, began to abandon the cloistered life, Luther staked a claim on the property by making it his family home. Katherine von Bora supported her family by gardening, making wine, raising livestock, and brewing. She raised or grew most of the food that appeared on the Luthers' dinner table — and, all reports agree, Katherine von Bora was a very good cook. A Place at the Table for All The Luthers invited and welcomed many guests into their home. Being a former monastic residence, the Black Cloister had many small rooms, which the Luthers rented to students or visiting clergy. These visitors and guests ate at the Luther table, with every meal seemingly overflowing with hungry seekers, acolytes, and fellow rebels. Some guests were not paying customers either, which put a strain on the family resources. In effect, Katherine von Bora was running a boardinghouse to provide additional income for the family. Luther showed his regard for his wife Katherine in other significant ways. On one occasion, he put her on a search committee to hire a new pastor. In those days it was unheard of to allow a woman to be part of such a decision.

To the grumblers Luther commented that his wife would show better judgment than he would. He also let Katherine handle much of his business with publishers. Frequently, Luther also took her advice on intellectual and political matters. Another practical display of Luther�s confidence in and care for his wife was his will, written in his own hand. It made Katherine von Bora his sole heir. In Saxony, it was common practice to make the children the heirs of a deceased male. The heirs were then expected to take care of their surviving mother. Many did not. Luther wanted his wife to be economically secure and independent in her widowhood. It was an unheard of act on Luther�s part. The Odd Couple Forge a Lasting Union. The marriage of Martin Luther and Katherine von Bora initially appeared to create an odd couple. Luther was a former monk in his early forties with habits not too akin to domestic harmony. During one period of his bachelor days, he went for two years without changing the sheets on his bed. It is unclear whether that particular set of sheets was laundered or burned afterward. Katherine came from a family of higher social rank than Luther�s, albeit an impecunious family.

The Von Boras were members of the knightly class, a proud but declining segment of German society. Luther came from peasant stock. His father Hans was a miner who got involved in the business side of the mining and became well-to-do. Initially Luther considered Katherine to be overly proud, but he quickly grew to love her. He clearly liked sleeping with his �Katie� and remarked on the joy of waking up to pigtails on the pillow next to him. The Luthers had an affectionate relationship. Luther liked to joke with his wife. In his letters he sometimes called her �my sweetheart Kate� or �my dearly beloved Kate� or �my true love.� Other references showed his respect for her intelligence when he referred to her as �Mrs. Doctor� and �Doctora Lutherin.� Luther could also joke with Katherine by calling her �Lady of the New Pig Market,� a reference to her efforts to raise pigs to feed her family and boarders. Dear Little Magdalene Of the Luthers� six children, four survived to adulthood — Hans, Martin the younger, Paul, and Margarete. Elizabeth died in 1528 before she reached eight months, a tragedy that greatly saddened the Luthers.

Magdalene, the Luther�s next child, was born in 1529. Since she was another daughter, Magdalene took the place of the deceased Elizabeth for Martin and Katherine. Sadly, she died when she was only thirteen years old. Magdalene�s death revealed the spiritual foundation of the Luthers� life together. As the child�s illness worsened, husband and wife comforted the stricken Magdalene and each other through expressions of their faith in God�s will. As the end approached, one of Luther�s friends described how �he fell on his knees before the bed and, weeping bitterly, prayed that God might will to save her. Thus she gave up the ghost in the arms of her father. Her mother [Katherine] was in the same room, but further from the bed on account of her grief.� Losing young children was an experience and a burden shared by many families during the sixteenth century. Still, it grieved the bereaved parents every bit as much as it would sadden a mother and father to lose a child in our day and age. Despite these tragic losses, the Luther household was a happy one for Martin and Katherine and their children.

The Luthers were strict but loving parents who allowed their children plenty of time to play. Let's Squabble about Money. Friends and partners they were, but both were also possessed of strong personalities, leading to occasional episodes of quarrelling, as is normal for married couples. Their biggest source of disagreement was money. Luther liked to spend it and Katie liked to save it. This observation is not to imply that Luther was a spendthrift. His monetary failing was his generosity. He allowed many who were in need to lodge at the Black Cloister as boarders without paying rent, and he willingly gave money to friends in need. Luther's business sense as an author was also poorly developed. Publishers made handsome profits from his books while the popular author saw little to no income from his writing. Unfortunately, historians have few sources that provide insights into the mind of Katherine von Bora. Only a few of her letters survive. Otherwise, we are dependent on how others describe her. Luther liked to tease Katherine and she gave him back as good as she got.

During one dinner table conversation, Luther remarked, �The time will come when a man will take more than one wife.� Katherine responded, �Let the devil believe that!� to which Luther answered, �The reason, Katy, is that a woman can bear a child only once a year while her husband can beget many.� Undismayed, Katherine cited from First Corinthians 7:2. �Paul said that each man should have his own wife.� Luther quipped back, �Yes, �his own wife� and not �only one wife,� for the latter isn�t what Paul wrote.� The jesting continued for a while longer until Katherine ended the discussion when she said, �Before I put up with this [polygamy], I�d rather go back to the convent and leave you and all our children.� 'Till Death Do Us Part Just as Luther loved his �Dear Kate,� she loved him just as deeply. After Luther�s death on 18 February 1546, Katherine wrote to her sister-in-law Christina von Bora two months later. �I know that you take pity on me and my poor children,� Katherine wrote.

�For who could not be deeply grieved and saddened over the loss of such a dear and precious man as my husband has been. He gave so much of himself in service not only to one town or to one country, but to the whole world. Yes, my sorrow is so deep that no words can express my heartbreak, and it is humanly impossible to understand what state of mind and spirit I am in . . . I can neither eat nor drink, not even sleep . . . God knows that when I think of having lost him, I can neither talk nor write in all my suffering.� Katherine von Bora died on 20 December 1552 at the age of fifty-three. War in the region of Wittenberg had forced to her to flee with her family. She fell into a watery ditch while trying to control the horses pulling her family�s wagon. The cold, the damp, and possible internal injuries caused her to sicken. Deathly ill, she was taken to Torgau by her children, where she died and was buried. Martin Luther . The Characters .

Luther's Wife | PBS Katharine von Bora Luther's Wife "There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage." (Martin Luther) Martin Luther found peace when he married an ex-nun named Katharine von Bora, whom he had helped to escape from her nunnery in an empty fish barrel and had taken refuge in Wittenberg. Katharine von Bora was born in 1499, the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. In 1504 she went to the convent school of the Benedictine order in Brehna (near Halle) and entered the convent of Nimbschen, near Grimma in 1508. In 1515 she took her vows and became a nun at the soonest possible date. In 1523 she left the convent and ended up in Wittenberg. By June 1525, echoing a trend across Europe as former nuns and monks married, she became Mrs Martin Luther. Katharine was 16 years younger than Martin and together they had six children.

Luther doted on his large family but was able to devote himself to the simpler pleasures of life, gardening, writing music. Katharine took over the household, particularly the household expenses; it is said that Dr Luther did not have a clue how to run a household. She also proved herself to be a good housewife and gardener. Luther's household included not only his wife and six children, but also one of Katharine's relatives and after 1529 six of Luther's sister's children. Luther also housed students in his home to help the family's financial situation. For recreation the Luthers enjoyed a bowling lane of sorts in their garden, board games such as chess, and music. They had a pet dog. They grew much of their own food in a small garden at the Black Cloister and then later as a farm outside Wittenberg. Luther and Katherine were diligent parents, disciplining their children, but doing so in love. Their home was noted for its liveliness and its happiness. Katherine outlived her husband by six years. She died on December 20, 1552 in Torgau where she had fled from the plague in Wittenberg.

The people in Luther's Environment: Katharina von Bora Katharina von Bora Katharina von Bora was born in 1499, the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. In 1504 she went to the convent school of the Benedict order in Brehna (near Halle) and entered the convent of Nimbschen (near Grimma; only in german) in 1508. In 1515 she took her vows and became a nun at the soonest possible date. Easter of 1523, Katherina fled with 11 other nuns from the convent in Nimbschen to Wittenberg and found shelter with the family of Lucas Cranach the Elder . She developed feelings for Hicronymus Baumgärtner, a student at the Wittenberg University and the son of a Nuremberg patrician family. His parents sent for him, and even Luther's attempts at negotiations failed. She was then courted by pastor Glatz, a lecturer from Orlamï¿½nde but she refused him.

She supposedly told Nikolaus von Amsdorf that she wanted to marry Luther, but Luther would rather marry Ave von Schönfeld, another former nun from Nimbschen. On June 13, 1525 Katharina got engaged and married to Luther; the wedding celebration took place on June 27, 1525. Philipp Melanchthon is quoted as having said: "Unexpectedly Luther married Bora, without even mentioning his plans to his friends..." in 1525. Henceforth, Katharina Luther put the household in order, used the monestary's right to brew beer, leased land for gardening and bred cattle. On June 7, 1526 Martin and Katharina's first son, Johannes (Hans), was born, on December 10, 1527 a daughter, Elisabeth, was born, but died after 8 months; the daughter, Magdalena, born on May 4, 1529, died at age 13. In 1531, 1533, and 1534, their sons, Martin and Paul, and daughter, Margarethe were born.

All living descendants of Martin Luther come from Margarethe's line. Katharina fled from the Smalkaldian War in 1546 to Dessau and then to Magdeburg. She died on December 20, 1552 in Torgau where she had fled to get away from the plague in Wittenberg. �Katherine von Bora, wife of Luther� by J.H. Alexander J. H. Alexander What an honoured place is given to godly women in the New Testament! And throughout the history of the church of God there has been a succession of women who have been shining examples in their life and witness. We think of some who have suffered martyrdom for Jesus� sake, others who have been devoted Christian wives and mothers, and yet others whose poetic gifts have been made such a blessing. The Reformation period was marked by a number of gracious women whom God raised up. The word �ladies� (rather than �women�) is specially used as so many of them were titled ladies, ladies of royal or noble blood. We are reminded of how the eminent Countess of Huntingdon used to refer to the text, �Not many noble are called� (1 Cor. 1.

26): and say, �I thank God it does not say, �Not any.�� THE one thing most people know about Luther�s wife is that she was a nun. It was not by choice, however, that Katherine von Bora took the veil. At the age often she was put into a convent, probably on losing her parents. The convent was at Nimptch, a town of Saxony, and was �exclusively for young ladies of good family�. They led a secluded monotonous life, but were not, like some later orders, forbidden to speak together, nor was news of the outside world entirely withheld. In her early teens Katherine began to hear of Martin Luther, the Doctor of Divinity at Wittenberg�s new university, and his brave doings and astonishing doctrines. Actually he preached from the Bible to the common people in German, an unheard-of thing! Most services in those popish days were nothing but processions, choir-singing, and the Sacrament � seldom such a thing as a sermon. The priests hired out the part of sermon � making to the begging friars, who used to entertain the people with foolish legends. When Katherine was seventeen, Dr.

Luther had come as near to their convent as Grimma, six miles away, and reports of his sermons in that church seeped into the convent. One of the nuns was Magdalene von Staupitz, niece of the vicar-general of the Augustinians, the man who gave Luther his first Bible with the words, �Let the study of the Scriptures be your occupation�. From this had stemmed Luther�s conversion and devotion to the Bible. Magdalene had received some of Luther�s writings and had eagerly imbibed the Reformed doctrines. She gradually and secretly drew as many as eight other nuns to her way of thinking. Katherine was one of them. Over their endless embroidery, patient distilling of herbs, and so on, they contrived to whisper together, and were alert to every bit of ecclesiastical news from the outside world. The Pope had sent a man, Tetzel, into Germany to sell �indulgences�, signed papers you could buy which said your sins were forgiven � even future ones, if you paid enough money. Was such a thing possible? Everyone was buying them. . . . A man came to Dr.

Luther in the confessional and when the Doctor told him he could not pronounce an absolution unless he showed repentance and a desire to forsake his sin the man said he was already forgiven and showed him an indulgence he had bought. Dr. Luther said the paper was worthless in the sight of God and the man went away very angry. .. . There was to be a pilgrimage to the opening services in a fine new church the Elector had built in Wittenberg and everyone was going. Dr. Luther took the opportunity of nailing a paper on the new door giving ninety-five reasons why these indulgences were useless. In no time the paper was copied, then it was whisked away to the printing press and in less than a fortnight copies were all over Europe and everyone was talking about it. . . . Katherine was eighteen at this time. How she listened to all these things. There were the debates the Doctor was called to with powerful cardinals, even before the Emperor; there was the famous Diet of Worms when he stood alone against �all the world� saying of the Bible, �Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me�, and would not retract his faithful words against the Pope.

That was a moment that thrilled all Germany � all Europe � to think that one man could defy the Pope and reason so well that he carried some of the German princes with him.. . . But now, suddenly, Dr. Luther vanished! Nothing was heard of him for ten months. Actually his friends had abducted him at a time of great danger and he was living in quietness at the Wartburg Castle. He was not idle there. By September 1522 his first translation of the New Testament in German came from the printers and could be bought for a form. Although he was out of sight the liberty to which he had opened the door was bearing rapid fruits. The Elector of Saxony, his protector, of course saw the political advantage of shaking off the dominion of Rome and of the too-powerful Emperor, Charles V, but he also agreed with Luther�s writings and allowed Carlstad and the town council to establish fresh laws to abolish the Mass, to remove images, to annul the vow of celibacy, to clear some of the monasteries of their lazy inmates. One of these latter that was vacated was Grimmen itself, not so far from the convent. The news was all bewildering, almost staggering. . .

. And then they heard that Dr. Luther had appeared again. The worst storm was over and he was back at his post at Wittenberg. There followed more conferences with high dignitaries � the �roaring� theologian Dr. Eck among them � and finally news of his excommunication, and, more exciting even than that, the news that Dr. Luther had burned the Pope�s letter of excommunication! The nuns went on with their embroidery, went on with their choir-singing, their devotions, but their heart was not in the business. A real unrest took hold of these nine: they longed to be free of the vows imposed on them, and to see something of this stirring world. They came to the decision to write in each case to their parents or guardians. We do not know to whom Katherine von Bora wrote � her origins lie in obscurity, though an aristocratic obscurity. In each case the answer was an alarmed No! And now Magdalene von Staupitz made a bold suggestion. She would write direct to Dr. Luther himself to help them! The eight girls agreed and the message reached Luther. Their appeal was not made in vain.

Luther immediately put the case to one of the councillors of the city of Torgau, who undertook to rescue the nine nuns, while Luther pledged himself to provide for their maintenance. Koppe, with two equally bold friends, slipped a message to the nuns and, on the night of 14 April 1523, was waiting to lift them over their convent wall into a covered wagon. The rescue went off smoothly and though they had to travel six miles through Catholic country, the nuns, crouching behind barrels of herrings, were not discovered. Luther had arranged for them to be received by an honourable citizen of Wittenberg, and eventually settled each one of them, some by suitable marriage and some into the homes of wealthy burghers. Katherine was taken into the family of Philip Reichenbach, burgomaster and town � clerk, where she was treated with the utmost kindness. She was there two years and became a valuable and happy member of the household. At least two suitors courted her but she was content to let them go as she gradually realized her affection for Dr. Luther himself.

She had a natural dignity about her which Luther at first mistook for pride until he came to know her better and to admire her character. In letters to his friends he betrayed that he was toying with the idea of marriage and, after October 1524, when he discarded his monk�s robe for the coat of a Reformed preacher it seemed as though this gesture also cast aside the chains of celibacy. He wrote a boyish letter to his friend Spalatin urging him to marry and then saying that perhaps he, Luther, would get the start of him in this. Rumours began to link his name with Katherine, especially as in a jocose way he often, when visiting at the house, would refer to her as �my Katy�. His friends, and particularly his father, now began to urge him to practise what he preached. On getting to know what an enemy had said: �Should this monk marry, the whole world, and even the devil, would burst into shouts of laughter and he himself will destroy what he has built up�, Luther made a quick decision.

Far from frightening him, these words determined him to help forward the cause of reform by encouraging others to break the vow of celibacy that had wrongfully held them in thrall. His mind once made up he acted immediately. Taking three friends with him he called upon Katherine, asked her hand in marriage, and at once formally betrothed the astonished girl to himself. The marriage followed in two weeks� time, June 1525. Katherine was twenty-six, Luther forty-two. The home he brought his bride to was part of the Augustine monastery he had entered as a young man. The monks had long deserted it and the prior had given it up to the Elector of Saxony, who converted it entirely for the use of the university. Hence Dr. Luther in his capacity as lecturer was granted a home there. He held a very happy wedding feast on the day he brought Katherine home, and had the joy of receiving his aged father and mother, whom friends had secretly brought to the celebration. Luther's House at Wittenberg All friends of the Reformation rejoiced at Luther�s marriage.

The University of Wittenberg, which owed its fame and prosperity almost entirely to Luther, presented them with a fine gold cup, with engraved wording, and the city gave them a handsome �cellar� of Rhenish wine, Burgundy, and beer. But of course Luther�s antagonists had plenty of malicious things to say. Even Erasmus, irritated at that juncture by something Luther had written, spread abroad some nasty scandal which he later had to withdraw and apologize for. The Peasants� War had started around this time, and his enemies accused Luther of hard-heartedness in revelling in matrimony at a time of distress as if all marriage must cease when war was afoot! If Luther had married primarily to demonstrate his Gospel preaching, it was soon found that his marriage brought nothing but blessing to this rugged warrior. It revealed an endearing tenderness in his tempestuous character that might never have emerged. In his Table Talk we read �The greatest blessing that God can confer on man is the possession of a good and pious wife with whom he may live in peace and tranquillity; to whom he can confide his whole possessions, even his life and welfare, and who bears him children.

Katy, thou hast a pious man who loves thee for a husband; thou art a very empress, thanks be to God�! He suffered much from �disorders� arising partly from his earlier life of austerity and partly from his excessive labours. Katherine had learnt the use of herbal remedies in her convent and was able to give him relief from nervous pains. She also learnt how to humour him, and when he gave himself up to deep dejection she sometimes would send secretly for his friend, Justus Jonas, whose enlivening conversation would often restore Luther to cheerfulness and a little banter that showed the heavy cloud was passing over. At the house of her former friends Katherine had learnt, as she had not in the convent, the art of housekeeping. She now proved herself an excellent housewife yet their purse was limited and she had to be very frugal while very hospitable. Luther liked to keep an open table for friends and students, but she found that he was also charitable even to excess, and it became her work to control some of this. Her admiration for him as a reformer had heightened as she saw his immense programme of writing, lecturing, preaching.

His early hours of prayer and study she took care to leave to him undisturbed. She was always anxious when he was called out of the town, and, in fact, when he was invited to his friend Spalatin�s wedding begged him not to go. So he wrote, �The tears of my Katy prevent me from coming. She thinks it would be perilous.� Her premonitions proved correct. Luther had excited the resentment of four young nobles who had lost part of their inheritance through their parents receiving back their sisters rescued from the convent of Freiberg. It was discovered that these men had plotted to waylay and murder Luther on his way to the wedding. (Such were some of the side issues connected with the liberation of nuns!) Two years after their marriage Luther was dangerously ill and in spite of night and day nursing by Katherine he felt he would die. He desired his two best friends to receive his confession of faith in case his enemies should announce to the world that he had recanted. Then he said �Where is my dearest Katy? Where is my little heart, my dear little John?� She came to the bedside and he embraced mother and baby.

�O my dear child,� he said with tears, �I commend you to God, you and your good mother, my dear Katy. You have nothing, but God will take care of you. He is the Father of orphans and widows. . . . Katy,� he added later, �you know I have nothing to leave you but the silver cups.� She encouraged him, we read, with passages from the Scriptures, and as to herself she said, �My dearest doctor, if it is God�s will then I would rather that you should be with our beloved Lord God than with me. But it is not so much I and my child that need you as many pious Christians. Afflict not yourself about me. I commend you to His divine will but I trust in God that He will mercifully preserve you.� Her hope of his recovery was not disappointed. On that very evening he began to feel better. In 1530 the famous Diet of Augsburg was convened, when the Emperor Charles V and Campeggio the Pope�s Legate were to meet the Protestant princes and force them, as they hoped, into submission to the Roman Catholic faith.

Luther and Melancthon had drawn up a declaration of doctrine, but the good Elector of Saxony did not wish Luther to be exposed to possible assassination and arranged for Melancthon to read the paper at Augsburg and Luther to remain at Coburg Castle, within distance for advising but outside the sphere of possible strife. Days and even weeks dragged on before everyone was assembled for such conferences, and Luther could not bear the inactivity in the silent castle with only one friend, Dietrich, with him. He sent home for his books and Katherine sent them out to him so that he was soon engrossed in continuing his Commentaries. This work, and constant prayer and anxiety about the momentous conference, told on his health again. When news was received that his father had died Katherine knew he would be overwhelmed. To comfort him she had a portrait painted of his third child, Magdalene, then one year old, and sent it to him. He was delighted with this and �placed it on the wall over against the dining-table in the prince�s hall�. That Diet ended in a notable victory for the Protestants. The papists could not produce any arguments from �the Fathers� to answer the Scripture doctrines so ably set out.

Thirteen years before it had been one voice (Luther�s) against the Pope; now on a grander scale it was a phalanx of princes and free cities, won over to the Reformation, that triumphed against both the Emperor and the Papacy. In 1540 Luther bought a small estate at Zolsdorf and gave it to Katherine, the Elector offering to supply her freely with timber for building. This little farm became a great interest to Katherine who made it thrive for the benefit of her household. She loved to have Luther and the children staying there whenever possible, and �he shared her child-like joy in the products of her farm�. �My lord Katy�, he wrote once to a friend, �has just set out for her new kingdom, and will take with her a load of timber and attend to some other matters. Katy is living bodily at Wittenberg but in spirit at Zolsdorf.� The place was a haven of rest for Luther, but its joys were soon overshadowed by the death, two years later, of the favourite daughter, Magdalene, at fourteen years of age. Luther and Katherine had six children altogether, their first little girl having died in infancy.

They had experienced a lot of sickness with the children and domestics and perhaps did not think Magdalene�s sudden illness was to be fatal. But so it was. The night before her death Katherine dreamed that two beautiful youths in elegant attire asked her daughter in marriage. She told this dream to Luther and to Melancthon who had come to visit them. Melancthon was deeply moved and said, �The two youths are angels who are come to lead the maiden to the true wedlock of the celestial kingdom.� These words soothed Katherine. She and Luther spent the day in prayer and supplication on her behalf. As the end drew near Luther fell on his knees at her bedside in an agony resigning her to God.

Then, bending over her bed, he said with touching sweetness, �Magdalene, my dear daughter, you would be glad to remain here with your father, but are you willing to depart and go to that other Father?� �Yes, dear father,� she said in a faint but calm voice, �just as God pleases.� �Unable to express his emotion at these words� says the chronicler �which came to his heart with a thrilling tenderness, he turned aside to conceal the tears in his eyes, and looking upward exclaimed, �If the flesh is so strong how will it be with the spirit? Well, whether we live or die we are the Lord�s.� She expired in his arms.� Katherine was in the room, but bowed with sorrow. She knew it was her duty to be resigned but nature would have its way and she wept bitterly. Luther said to her �Dear Katherine, think where she has gone. She has certainly made a happy journey. With children everything is simple. They die without anguish, without disputes, without the temptations of death and without bodily grief, more as if they were falling asleep.� Their grief revived when they saw the dear child in her coffin.

To comfort Katherine and himself, Luther said, �You, dear Lene [Magdalene], you will rise again and shine like a star, yea as the sun. I am joyful in spirit though sorrowful in the flesh. We, dear Katherine, should not lament as though we had no hope. We have dismissed a saint, yea, a living saint for heaven. O that we could so die. Such a death I would willingly accept this very hour.� The vigour of Luther�s life was really beginning to ebb and the death of this dear girl aged him prematurely. Things politically were in a great state of upheaval and he hardly felt equal to his work. He mourned over the wicked state of the city and began to plan to retire permanently to the farm. His friends were alarmed to think of losing their adviser, but he was actually in the act of packing up when a deputation from the university and even from the Elector himself came to implore him not to leave them. Almost sorrowfully he re-settled himself. Soon afterwards he was asked to go to Eisleben to settle a dispute between the Counts of Mansfeld about the mines.

Here he had been born, here baptized, and here it was he was to die. He was unsuccessful in his arbitration, and was invited again some weeks later. This was January 1546. He was this time accompanied by his three sons (the eldest would be about twenty) and his friend, Dr. Jonas, on what was considered a very delicate mission. He had come away feeling unwell and Katherine, very anxious, had packed him some remedies which generally helped him. Following this up with tender letters she received this reply: �To the gracious Dame Katherine Luther, my dear spouse, who is tormenting herself quite unnecessarily, grace, peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear Katherine you should read St. John and what the catechism says respecting the confidence we ought to have in God. You afflict yourself just as if God were not all powerful and able to raise up new Dr. Martins by dozens should the old Dr. Martin be drowned in the Salle or perish in any other way. There is One who takes care of me in His own manner better than you and all the angels could ever do. He sits by the side of the Almighty Father. Tranquillize yourself, then.

Amen.� On 14 February when he wrote another letter to her he was so well that he anticipated returning home within that week, but he suddenly fell sick, and sank so rapidly that in the early morning of the 18th he died before she could be brought to his side. She was overwhelmed, but was consoled to hear an account of his deathbed. His prevailing language had been prayer, adoration, and trust in God. Among his last words were these: �O my Heavenly Father, eternal and merciful God, Thou hast revealed to me Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Him I have preached, Him I have confessed. Him I love and worship as my dearest Saviour and deliverer whom the ungodly persecute and blaspheme. Receive my poor soul. O Heavenly Father, although I must quit this body and am hurried away from this life, yet I certainly know that I shall abide eternally with Thee and that none can pluck me out of Thy hand.� The body was brought back to Wittenberg and given an honourable funeral, thousands attending at the Castle church.

�Thus was Katherine bereaved of him who, by delivering her from a convent, had, as it were, rescued her from a living grave; who had been first her kindest friend and then her loving faithful husband.� Luther�s will reflects a deep love for Katherine and care for his children in the guardians he chose for them. Many were the condolences she received from princes and ministers, but her widowhood of seven years was almost unmitigated tribulation. All might have gone well with her through the kind promises of patrons but for the outbreak of a long-anticipated war between the Emperor and the Protestant princes. Katherine�s beloved little farm lay directly in the path of the war, heavy war-taxes impoverished her and many others, and the whole disastrous upheaval diverted the attention of her benefactors, sincere as their promises had been. The Elector of Saxony, Luther�s best friend, was captured, and the Emperor�s army advanced on Wittenberg. Katherine and her children fled to Brunswick. After some weeks a proclamation inviting citizens to return was issued from Wittenberg, and she was able to come home. She was now nearly penniless and let some of her apartments and tried to board some students.

Not until four imploring letters had gone to the King of Denmark (once a staunch supporter of Luther) did she receive a reply and a small gift. �I often think of that man of God, Dr. Martin Luther,� wrote a friend, �how he made his wife commit to memory Psalm 31 when she was young, vigorous, and cheerful and could not then know how this psalm would afterwards be so sweet and consolatory to her in her sorrows�, which he seemed to anticipate. In 1552 the plague broke out in Wittenberg and as the university had removed to Torgau Katherine thought she would go there too. On the way she was thrown from the wagon on the edge of a lake and was lifted out of the water severely bruised. She did not recover from this accident but died three months later at the age of fifty-three. �I will cleave to my Lord Christ�, she said, �as the burr to the cloth.� In spite of the continued poverty poor Katherine had suffered from, her children were not forgotten of God.

She had brought them through their teens, and at the time of her death the eldest, John, was a councillor of state to Elector John Frederick II; Martin, a delicate lad, studied theology. Paul was the most gifted and he studied medicine and took his degree and was for a short time Professor of Medicine at the University of Jena and later a court physician. Margaret married a nobleman, a great admirer of her father, and had nine children. Author Form many years, members of the Alexander family were renowned as talented Chrsitian writers. J.H. Alexander became well known through her More Than Notion � almost a Christian classic! This current article is taken from Ladies of the Reformation, possibly her last work on account of failing eyesight. DISCUSS THIS TOPIC Please join others who have commented upon this and other topics in our Discussion Group . Martin Luther on Marriage as a School of Character Martin Luther on Marriage as a School of Character August 3, 2011 “Before I was married,” Martin Luther recalled, “the bed was not made for a whole year and became foul with sweat.

But I worked so hard and was so weary I tumbled in without noticing it.” However, when Martin married the runaway nun Katherine Von Bora, whom Luther called Katie, the bed was made, the sheets were changed, and the house was kept clean! But life was not all roses for Luther once he was married. Martin quickly learned that marriage means sacrifice, looking out not only for the needs of yourself but also of your wife and family. “There is a lot to get used to in the first year of marriage,” he wrote. “One wakes up in the morning and finds a pair of pigtails on the pillow which were not there before.” Roland Bainton, in his biography of Martin Luther, Here I Stand , comments, “He soon discovered that a husband must take the wishes of his wife into account” (226). To take but one example, if it were not for Katie, Martin would have attended Spalatin's wedding, encountering violence from peasants in order to get there. Luther no longer could just think of himself, but he now had a wife (and soon many children) to provide for. A Resourceful Woman Martin brought nothing into his marriage but some old books and smelly clothes.

The Luthers started off with little financial advantage. The responsibilities around the house were not light either. Katie had to work the house and land they lived on to meet the needs of their household. Luther cared for the garden and Katie the orchard, pond, and barnyard. Katie slaughtered the hens, pigs, and cows herself! Martin wrote of Katie in a letter from 1535, “My lord Katie greets you. She plants our fields, pastures and sells cows, et cetera [how much does that et cetera cover?]. In between she has started to read the Bible. I have promised her 50 gulden if she finishes by Easter. She is hard at it and is at the end of the fifth book of Moses.” Eventually Martin had a farm at Zulsdorf, managed by Katie. The Luthers would spend time out at the farm every year. Comically Martin wrote to his much-loved Katie, “To the rich lady of Zulsdorf, Mrs. Dr. Katherine Luther, who lives in the flesh at Wittenberg but in the spirit at Zulsdorf.” And at another time, “To my beloved wife, Katherine, Mrs.

Dr. Luther, mistress of the pig market, lady of Zulsdorf, and whatsoever other titles may befit thy Grace.” Martin was not an easy one to take care of. Often he was sick and at various times (if not all at once) he suffered from gout, insomnia, catarrh, hemorrhoids, constipation, stone, dizziness, and ringing in the ears. Bainton observes Martin's love for Katie during these hardships: Katie was a master of herbs, poultices, and massage. Her son Paul, who became a doctor, said his mother was half one. She kept Luther from wine and gave him beer, which served as a sedative for insomnia and a solvent for the stone. And she brewed the beer herself. When he was away from home, how he appreciated her ministrations! After a year of marriage he wrote to a friend, “My Katie is in all things so obliging and pleasing to me that I would not exchange my poverty for the riches of Croesus.” He paid her the highest tribute when he called St.

Paul's epistle to the Galatians “my Katherine von Bora.” He began to be a trifle worried over his devotion: “I give more credit to Katherine than to Christ, who has done so much more for me.” Martin and Katie loved one another, and Martin valued Katie for taking such good care of his sorry body. A Growing Household The Luther household soon grew in number by leaps and bounds. Katie gave birth to a son, Hans. Martin wrote, “My dear Katie brought into the world yesterday by God's grace at two o'clock a little son, Hans Luther. I must stop. Sick Katie calls me.” In his typical humor, Luther wrapped Hans in swaddling clothes and then said, “Kick, little fellow. That is what the pope did to me, but I got loose.” What I appreciate most about Luther's journal entries at this point is how true his comments are to real life. As cute as Hans might have been, the late nights with a screaming baby were tiresome and a hardship. “Hans,” Luther said, “is cutting his teeth and beginning to make a joyous nuisance of himself.

These are the joys of marriage of which the pope is not worthy.” Total, the Luthers had six children: Hans, Elizabeth, Magdalena, Martin, Paul, and Margaretha. Luther said of Elizabeth when she was born on December 10, 1527, “God has produced from me and my wife Katie a little heathen.” But the ongoing noise of Luther's household was not only due to their children but also to the many friends and students who were constantly at Luther's doorstep. One of the most outrageous examples occurred on the night of Martin and Katie's wedding. At eleven o'clock there was a knock at the door. It was Carlstadt, who was fleeing from the Peasants' War, seeking a place to stay. Of course, the Luthers took him in. Carlstadt would not be the last. The Luthers took in the sick on many occasions. Most impressive, however, was the love the Luthers had for orphans. Martin and Katie adopted four orphaned children from their relatives, making a total of ten children (!) in the Luther household.

Known for an open door, at times the Luther family had up to 25 children and student boarders under their roof. Needless to say, this was no small task for Katie. Even the mealtimes in the Luther household were occupied. Martin's famous Table Talk came from the table where the Luthers had their supper. Students were always at his table asking questions into the late hours of the night. But the exhaustion was overwhelming, so much so that one night, when Martin was talking at the table, Katie went up to her room and literally passed out. Life was hard. Family life was hard. Marriage was hard. And yet, Martin and Katie loved each other tremendously. They viewed marriage as a school of character, whereby God uses the hardships of daily family life to sanctify us. Bainton puts the matter as well as anyone: In this sense it displaces the monastery, which had been regarded by the Church as the training ground of virtue and the surest way to heaven. Luther in rejecting all earning of salvation did not exclude exercise in fortitude, patience, charity, and humility. Family life is exacting. The head of the house has the lifelong worry over daily bread. The wife has the bearing of children.

During pregnancy she suffers from dizziness, headache, nausea, toothache, and swelling of the legs. In travail her husband may comfort her by saying, “Think, dear Greta, that you are a woman and your work is pleasing to God. Rejoice in his will. Bring forth the child. Should you die, it is for the noble work and in obedience to God. If you were not a woman, you should wish to be one, that you might suffer and die in so precious and noble a work of God.” Perhaps nowhere is the “school of character” more evident than in raising children. If you are a parent you know how stressful it can be and how trying to your own sanctification it can be to have a child who is relentless, disturbing the entire household with screams during the night. I know I do, and my wife more than I. Luther's household was no exception. Bainton writes, The rearing of children is a trial for both parents. To one of his youngsters Luther said, “Child, what have you done that I should love you so?

You have disturbed the whole household with your bawling.” And when a baby cried for an hour and the parents were at the end of their resources, he remarked, “This is the sort of thing that has caused the Church fathers to vilify marriage. But God before the last day has brought back marriage and the magistracy to their proper esteem.” The mother of course has the brunt of it. But the father may have to hang out the diapers, to the neighbors' amusement. “Let them laugh. God and the angels smile in heaven.” Marriage and Patience Martin's words were never lacking the combination of biblical truth and humor. Luther exclaimed at one point, “Good God, what a lot of trouble there is in marriage! Adam has made a mess of our nature. Think of all the squabbles Adam and Eve must have had in the course of their nine hundred years. Eve would say, 'You ate the apple,' and Adam would retort, 'You gave it to me.'” Katie's patience ran dry as well.

She snapped at Luther one time, “Doctor, why don't you stop talking and eat?” Luther snapped back, “I wish that women would repeat the Lord's Prayer before opening their mouths.” But Bainton explains why their patience with one another, and especially with their many children, may have run out at times: Part of the difficulty was that the rhythm of work and rest did not coincide for Luther and his wife. After a day with children, animals, and servants, she wanted to talk with an equal; and he, after preaching four times, lecturing and conversing with students at meals, wanted to drop into a chair and sink into a book. Then Katie would start in, “Herr Doktor, is the prime minister of Prussia the duke's brother?” Martin knew his patience was hard to find at times. He once said, “All my life is patience. I have to have patience with the pope, the heretics, my family, and Katie.” But as Bainton rightly observes, Martin “recognized that it was good for him.” Again, marriage and family was a school of character. Despite the hardship of daily life, Martin loved Katie enormously. And he knew that marital love grows stronger over time.

“The first love is drunken. When the intoxication wears off, then comes the real marriage love.” And again Luther wrote, “Union of the flesh does nothing. There must also be union of manners and mind.” Martin's love for Katie was evident especially when she was sick. He wrote, “Oh, Katie do not die and leave me.” Martin could not stand the thought of losing his “rib,” as he so often called Katie in joking. But Martin and Katie loved their children as well, and they loved them more than life itself. Perhaps the most difficult trial Martin and Katie experienced was the death of their 14-year-old daughter, Magdalena. On her deathbed Martin prayed, “O God, I love her so, but thy will be done.” Bainton explains what happened when she died: Luther reproached himself because God had blessed him as no bishop had been blessed in a thousand years, and yet he could not find it in his heart to give God thanks. Katie stood off, overcome by grief; and Luther held the child in his arms as she passed on. When she was laid away, he said, “Du liebes Lenchen, you will rise and shine like the stars and the sun.

How strange it is to know that she is at peace and all is well, and yet to be so sorrowful!” Peace and sorrow. May the marriage of Martin and Katie, as well as their love for their children, remind us today of Christ's love for his church and the Father's love for us as his redeemed children. Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) istutor of systmatic theology and church history at Oak Hill Theological College in London, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine . He is the author of several books, including Salvation by Grace (P&R, 2013), Owen on the Christian Life (Crossway, 2015), God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture (Zondervan, 2016), and Reformation Theology: A Systematic Summary (Crossway, 2017). Currently he is the series editor of The 5 Solas Series with Zondervan. You can read more about Barrett at MatthewMBarrett.com .

Katharina Luther (von Bora) (1499 - 1552) - Genealogy About Katharina von Bora For an interesting discussion on Katharina's ancestry see In historischen Romanen und Erzählungen findet sich neuerdings die Darstellung, dass sie in Hirschfeld bei Nossen geboren worden sei, und dass ihre Eltern ein Hans von Bora zu Hirschfeld und eine Anna geborene von Haugwitz gewesen seien.[7] Beide sind historisch nicht nachweisbar.[8] Trotzdem wird der alte Taufstein aus der Hirschfelder Kirche, der heute im Kreuzgang des Freiberger Domes steht, mit ihr in Verbindung gebracht.[9] Tatsächlich war Katharina wohl die Tochter des nur 1505 sicher belegten Jhan v. Bora auf Lippendorf und seiner ebenfalls nur 1505 erwähnten Ehefrau Margarete aus einer bislang unbekannten Familie (German Wikipedia) Katharina von Bora, one of 12 nuns Martin Luther had helped escape from a convent two years earlier.

Katharina was 26, Luther 41 years old. Ironically, the couple’s first home was a former monastery, a gift from John the Constant. They would have six children, four of whom lived to adulthood. Katharina was an avid gardener, cattle breeder and competent Lady of the house and her and Martin led a happy life together. Many of Luther's circle of friends and supporters were dismayed by his marriage. The Luther's lived in the Augustinian monastery, a bustling and happy home. They had many houseguests and boarders, including students and widows who would provide some much needed income, in addition to Luther's modest income, towards the running of the household. Luther would sometimes jokingly refer to her as Lord Kate' because of her bossy and commandeering motherly ways, though no doubt it was necessary at times. Luther's sisters' six children would live with them after her death. Katharina von Bora was born in 1499, the daughter of an impoverished nobleman.

In 1504 she went to the convent school of the Benedict order in Brehna (near Halle) and entered the convent of Nimbschen (near Grimma; only in german) in 1508. In 1515 she took her vows and became a nun at the soonest possible date. Easter of 1523, Katherina fled with 11 other nuns from the convent in Nimbschen to Wittenberg and found shelter with the family of Lucas Cranach the Elder. She developed feelings for Hicronymus Baumgärtner, a student at the Wittenberg University and the son of a Nuremberg patrician family. His parents sent for him, and even Luther's attempts at negotiations failed. She was then courted by pastor Glatz, a lecturer from Orlamünde but she refused him. She supposedly told Nikolaus von Amsdorf that she wanted to marry Luther, but Luther would rather marry Ave von Schönfeld, another former nun from Nimbschen.

On June 13, 1525 Katharina got engaged and married to Luther; the wedding celebration took place on June 27, 1525. Philipp Melanchthon is quoted as having said: "Unexpectedly Luther married Bora, without even mentioning his plans to his friends..." in 1525. Henceforth, Katharina Luther put the household in order, used the monestary's right to brew beer, leased land for gardening and bred cattle. On June 7, 1526 Martin and Katharina's first son, Johannes (Hans), was born, on December 10, 1527 a daughter, Elisabeth, was born, but died after 8 months; the daughter, Magdalena, born on May 4, 1529, died at age 13. In 1531, 1533, and 1534, their sons, Martin and Paul, and daughter, Margarethe were born. All living descendants of Martin Luther come from Margarethe's line.

Katharina fled from the Smalkaldian War in 1546 to Dessau and then to Magdeburg. She died on December 20, 1552 in Torgau where she had fled to get away from the plague in Wittenberg. Wikipedia: Katharina von Bora, referred to as "die Lutherin" (January 29, 1499 â December 20, 1552), was the wife of Martin Luther, German leader of the Protestant Reformation. Beyond what is found in the writings of Luther and some of his contemporaries, little is known about her. Despite this, Katharina is often considered one of the most important participants of the Reformation because of her role in helping to define Protestant family life and setting the tone for clergy marriages. Origin and family background[edit] Katharina von Bora was daughter to a family of Saxon landed gentry.[1] According to common belief, she was born on 29 January 1499; however, there is no evidence of this date from contemporary documents.

Due to the various lineages within the family and the uncertainty towards Katharina's birth name, there were and are diverging theories about her place of birth.[2][3] Lately, however, a different view upon this matter has been proposed: that she was born in Hirschfeld and that her parents are supposed to have been a Hans von Bora zu Hirschfeld and his wife Anna von Haugwitz.[4] Neither can be historically proven. It is also possible that Katharina was the daughter of a Jan von Bora auf Lippendorf and his wife Margarete, whose family name has not been established. Both were only specifically mentioned in the year 1505.[5] Life as a nun[edit] It is certain that her father sent the five year old Katherina to the Benedictine cloister in Brehna in 1504 for education. This is documented in a letter from Laurentius Zoch to Martin Luther, written on October 30, 1531.

This letter is the only evidence for Katherina von Bora's time spent within the monastery.[6] At the age of nine she moved to the Cistercian monastery Marienthron (Mary's Throne) in Nimbschen, near Grimma, where her maternal aunt was already a member of the community.[7] Katharina is well documented at this monastery in a provision list of 1509/10.[8] After several years of religious life, Katharina became interested in the growing reform movement and grew dissatisfied with her life in the monastery. Conspiring with several other nuns to flee in secrecy, she contacted Luther and begged for his assistance. On Easter eve, 4 April 1523, Luther sent Leonhard KÃ¶ppe, a city councilman of Torgau and merchant who regularly delivered herring to the monastery. The nuns successfully escaped by hiding in KÃ¶ppe's covered wagon among the fish barrels, and fled to Wittenberg. A local student wrote to a friend: 'A wagon load of vestal virgins has just come to town, all more eager for marriage than for life.

God grant them husbands lest worse befall."[9] Luther at first asked the parents and relations of the refugee nuns to admit them again into their houses, but they declined to receive them, possibly as this was participating in a crime under canon law.[10] Within two years, Luther was able to arrange homes, marriages, or employment for all of the escaped nunsâexcept for Katharina. She first was housed with the family of Philipp Reichenbach, the city clerk of Wittenberg, and later went to the home of Lucas Cranach the Elder and his wife, Barbara. Katharina had a number of suitors, including Wittenberg University alumnus Jerome (Hieronymus) BaumgÃ¤rtner (1498â1565) of Nuremberg and a pastor, Kaspar Glatz of OrlamÃ¼nde, but none of the proposed matches resulted in marriage. Finally, she told Lutherâs friend and fellow reformer, Nikolaus von Amsdorf, that she would be willing to marry only Luther or him.

Marriage to Luther Martin Luther eventually married Katharina on June 13, 1525, before witnesses including Justus Jonas, Johannes Bugenhagen, and Barbara and Lucas Cranach the Elder.[11] There was a wedding breakfast the next morning with a small company, but two weeks later, on June 27, they held a more formal public ceremony which was presided over by Bugenhagen.[12] Von Bora was 26 years old, Luther 41. The couple took up residence in "The Black Cloister" (Augusteum), the former dormitory and educational institution for Augustinian friars studying in Wittenberg, given as a wedding gift by the reform-minded John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, who was the son and nephew of Luther's protectors, John, Elector of Saxony and Frederick III, Elector of Saxony.[13] Katharina immediately took on the task of administering and managing the vast holdings of the monastery, breeding and selling cattle, and running a brewery in order to provide for their family and the steady stream of students who boarded with them and visitors seeking audiences with her husband.

In times of widespread illness, Katharina operated a hospital on site, ministering to the sick alongside other nurses. Luther called her the "boss of Zulsdorf," after the name of the farm they owned, and the "morning star of Wittenberg" for her habit of rising at 4 a.m. to take care of her various responsibilities. In addition to her busy life tending to the lands and grounds of the monastery, Katharina bore six children: Johannes (Hans) (1526â1575), Elizabeth (1527â28) who died at eight months, Magdalena (1529â42) who died at thirteen years, Martin Jr. (1531â1565), Paul (1533â1593), and Margarete (1534â70); in addition she suffered a miscarriage in 1539.

The Luthers also raised four orphan children, including Katharina's nephew, Fabian.[14] Throughout Luther's writings, one can obtain a sense of Katharina's wit and personality, as seen in this exchange: Martin Luther said, "The time will come when a man will take more than one wife." [Katharina] responded, "Let the devil believe that!" The doctor said, "The reason, Katie, is that a woman can bear a child only once a year while her husband can beget many." Katie responded, "Paul said that each man should have his own wife." To this the doctor replied, "Yes, 'his own wife' and not 'only one wife,' for the latter isn't what Paul wrote." The doctor kidded for a long time and finally the doctor's wife said, "Before I put up with this, I'd rather go back to the convent and leave you and all our children."[15] After Luther's death: When Martin Luther died in 1546, Katharina was left in difficult financial straits without Luther's salary as professor and pastor, even if she owned land and proprieties, and also the Black Cloister.

She was counselled by Martin Luther to move out of the old abbey and sell it, after his death, into a much more modest quarters with the children who remained at home, but she refused.[16] Almost immediately thereafter, Katharina had to leave the Black Cloister on her own at the outbreak of the Schmalkaldic War, from which she fled to Magdeburg. After her return the approach of the war forced another flight in 1547, this time to Braunschweig. In July of that year, at the close of the war, she was at last able to return to Wittenberg. After the war the buildings and lands of the monastery had been torn apart and laid waste, the cattle and other farm animals were stolen or killed. If she would have sold the land and the buildings, she could have had a good financial situation. As it was, economically, they could not remain there.

Katharina was able to support herself thanks to the generosity of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and the princes of Anhalt.[citation needed] She remained in Wittenberg in poverty until 1552, when an outbreak of the Black Plague and a harvest failure forced her to leave the city once again. She fled to Torgau where her cart was involved in a bad accident near the city gates, seriously injuring Katharina. She died in Torgau about three months later on December 20, 1552 at the age of fifty-three and was buried at Torgau's Saint Mary's Church, far from her husband's grave in Wittenberg. She is reported to have said on her deathbed, "I will stick to Christ as a burr to cloth."[citation needed] By the time of Katharina's death, the surviving Luther children were adults. After Katharina's death, the Black Cloister was sold back to the university in 1564 by his heirs. Hans studied law and became a court advisor. Martin studied theology, but never had a regular pastoral call. Paul became a physician.

He fathered six children and the male line of the Luther family continued through him to John Ernest Luther, ending in 1759. Margareta Luther, born in Wittenberg on December 17, 1534, married into a noble, wealthy Prussian family, to Georg von Kunheim (Wehlau, July 1, 1523 â MÃ¼hlhausen, October 18, 1611, the son of Georg von Kunheim (1480â1543) and wife Margarethe, Truchsessin von Wetzhausen (1490â1527)) but died in MÃ¼hlhausen in 1570 at the age of thirty-six. Her descendants have continued to modern times, including German President Paul von Hindenburg (1847â1934) and the Counts zu Eulenburg and Princes zu Eulenburg und Hertefeld.

Question: Who married Catharine von Bora, a former nun?
Answer: Martin Luther